50Steaks's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Day that Won't Come]

I, for one, have been very glad to see you branch out more recently and try new things. Can’t remember the last time you made a piano centric piece like this tbh.

Definitely a jazzy feel with that intro. A mixture of basic cadences and extended harmonies, like other piano jazz pieces I’ve heard. Combining the traditional with the new (though not really that new anymore lol) in a unique blend of texture and rhythm.
A softer section follows that brings us to a section that reminds me a lot of the spirit of your older music. It’s hard to describe, gives almost a throwback vibe. Honestly this whole piece reminds me of your older music, which is definitely not a bad thing because in many ways those songs have their own nice qualities. The ending feels a little abrupt for some reason, maybe because it’s not really built up to much.

It’s just refreshing to know that you can still compose heartwarming pieces without cinematic choir sounds. Wondering if I can compose without my illustrious trumpet or snare drum, lmao. Anyway really nice job on this as always; kinda makes me wanna try solo piano again after the failures of etude no 1 and the much lesser known (and I think still unpublished) etude no 2. Don’t think you’d remember those since they’re something else (and probably impossible to play).

Tangerine responds:

Thank you! It really has been a fat minute since I've made something like this. I quite enjoy making jazz-styled songs and I think I should do it more often. Still, though, I enjoy making orchestral music way too much xd. Perhaps I'll make a big band song sometime this year ;).

Not gonna lie, the reason this sounds like one of my older pieces is likely because it is one of my older pieces. The chords and melodies were made years ago. I just thought it'd be a fun exercise to try writing for solo piano.

I think a staple of my older songs was how often I made jazz songs along with the more cinematic stuff. I guess now that my quality has increased and my standards have risen, I slowly stopped making jazz songs because I don't have access to or the ability to use any decent jazz samples. Besides, half the joy of jazz genres like big band is the soloism in them. I don't think I could replicate that synthetically and I certainly don't have the skills to play them physically. Perhaps if I get myself a midi keyboard I might just be able to pull it off.

As for the choir, I don't think I rely too terribly much on it. I do use it a lot but not as a crutch. If you look at some of my more choir-heavy songs, you can see that strings honestly do most of the heavy lifting. Autumn wind for example. With the exception of that one section, most of the lyrical passages are done by piano or strings.

For some of my newer pieces like High Noon and Hall of the Pumpkin King, the trumpet carries the melodies a lot more than the choir does. Choir is mostly used as texture and occasionally as the melody. If I were to suddenly lose the choir as a tool, I don't think my music would be impacted as badly as if strings or brass were taken away.

Pieces like High Noon have a heavy concentration of Choir because that's one of the main pillars of the genre and how I understand the Western themes. I did try and incorporate a larger variety of instruments such as the guitar and the Mexican whistle.

A lot of the emotion I spew into my songs typically comes from chord choice rather than thought-out instrumentation.

But yeah I should do jazz more. This was fun :)

[Let's Bounce]

This song is so unique. I honestly can’t think of anything that sounds remotely like it. I was introduced to it through GD, though it wasn’t ditched machine that did it, it was some other random grayscale level which was much easier.

The synth at the start always sounded like a really well mixed cello, and as a cello player that part hit home. Into the bouncy melody with a very very strange bassy synth thing that more or less defines the song. One of the more obscure memories of my childhood that I still think about from time to time. Also I only ever knew you as shtigra or whatever since that was the name you showed up as in GD.

Edit: the level was called vertex by echonox. It actually has more likes than the jeyzor level.

Zodin responds:

Thank you for the kind review :)
You know, when I originally made this I thought that it wouldn't do too well because some of the sounds used are a bit 'harsh'. But I am very glad that you enjoy the uniqueness of the track.

Yeah I did used to be called Shtriga many many years ago across all my platforms. It is the name of a creature from the TV series - Supernatural. But I figured I needed a proper name to go more official :)

Thanks again and I hope you continue to enjoy some of my newer stuff too!

[Heart]

Reminds me of those youtube pieces which look like cats but still sound good

EarthDash75GMD responds:

yep

[Survive the Night]

This is actually phenomenal. I think this might be my favorite composition of yours ever. Finally something that surpasses the sun has toes.

There are very few complaints I have about the mix; it's actually really well done. I feel like your use of choir has evolved here to be a lot more tasteful, since in your other recent pieces I feel like it was used a bit too much. Though I did nothing but use the same instrument for like 3 years so I guess I can't really complain too much.

The little story that accompanies the piece is cute, but does go against what I think you said to me a long time ago about wanting your music to speak for itself. Me personally I decided to listen to the entire composition before reading the story. And let's just say I was blown away. The melody is catchy and waltzy. The piano introduction is something different and immediately tells you that this is no ordinary Tangerine piece and that we're in for something truly special. When I ranted about branching out and trying new things, this is a great step in that direction. The only complaint I have is by 6:25 the melody does start getting a little repetitive with the xylophone/piano/percussive instrument thingies doing similar chords consistently for the entire first half it feels like. It's all very tightly made with the winds getting huge attention here which I appreciate. Im making a windy composition myself anyways, though I am fashionably late to review this. Luckily you change things up quite a bit at 7:19 which I think was a really smart move tbh. 9:28 is a really nice moment that hints at a happier section coming up.
Then we get to the main part of the piece in my opinion: the second half. It starts at 10:04 and it basically your best work in my opinion. I mean the soft flute melody coming in gave me shivers listening to this. AHHHHHHHHHHH minor VI type shenanigans at 10:39 so JUICYYYYYY

11:18 is this the same guy who just made the lord has come? Soft flute with delicate pizzicato and swelling strings in the background driving the song forward??? Piano solo to snap us back to reality???? Calling this a theme and variations would be doing a disservice to the level of composition here. It's so much more than that. Now at 12:35, I would've switched away from flute for a bit cause they just got a ton of time to shine. I'm thinking maybe english horn or even clarinet might work there better. Regardless, it's still brilliant. The random major key shift at 13:24 was a little jarring but still works tbh. 13:47, that chord is awesome.

Holy SHIT can we talk about 14:18-14:50. Every instrument that's added blends so well it's crazy. I can hardly tell what's playing cause it's all so resonant. I have no idea how you got that sound but PLEASE do that more. You're giving me inspiration now with that like that's crazy. Probably my favorite moment in the entire piece. Soft piano in the background never gets old. And that return to the theme is really cool too. Oh hey look clarinet at 16:21. This is the literal definition of a symphonic poem, something you haven't really made to this scale before. And mine was like 6 minutes both times so this definitely beats it out in scale.

And how do you end this glorious masterpiece? With a descending cello line and a final resolution. While I like the spotlight on the cellos at the end, I feel like the outro didn't really do it justice. Still good though. What a wild ride this was, I'm gonna shut up now.

Tangerine responds:

Thanks! You're too kind xd. I still don't think I've creatively recovered from this lol. It took a lot out of me and I'm slowly regaining my creativity lol.

You're so right! I don't think I've ever used an English horn before. That could have an interesting texture.

I also really like the Spirit by the Lake section. Though, a huge complaint that I have about it that I will eventually go and fix is that it was suuuuper rushed. The flute's timing is off and a bunch of other small things that I've got to go and fix. Honestly, it might be worth it to just make it into its own full piece lol.

While making 14:18, I thought to myself "What if I do a regular string opening but use harmonics instead" and that's the sound that came out of that idea. I really like how the regular arco strings slowly fade in as the sound fills out.

I get what you mean when you said "I'm making a windy composition myself" I'd say Presage is the gold standard of how to make full use of the strings. I love it so much. I've been listening to it on loop xd.

The ending is a bit odd because I wasn't expecting it to be the ending. the last movement was the one I made first and I was planning to have the others follow it. But in the end I decided that it fit the best at the finish and then called it a day xd.

[Hi-LiGHT]

The intro sets the mood for sure. The voice lines set the stage for them being used more. But the transition into 0:26 has a weird clipping sound, and again at 1:48. It almost sounds like an overly loud hi-hat. It takes you out of the immersion a little bit. I can't even describe what it is fully but it is definitely noticeable. Sounds like you might need a stronger crash there to bring in the extremely fast melody. 0:47 is a very quick transition into a dubsteppy part that I'm not sure entirely fits with the rest of the song. Also the high end at 1:08 feels very crowded to me. Pretty much the only thing in the lower register there is the kick drum. I do like the guitar and voice lines in the section following though. At 2:08 the snares are extremely quiet and could be turned up a ton I feel like. Also the synths get a bit chaotic there, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Overall this is definitely a bop with a few rough areas around the edges for improvement that don't significantly hinder the fact that it's a bop. Thanks for coming out!

icantpronouncethis responds:

Thank you so much for the thorough analysis of this track. I think I've added a bitcrusher that fades in for that weird clicky part. I think I added that for texture thing. Now that you mentioned, I might just get rid of the crush because it doesn't seem to matter too much for the track. I always pull back when it comes to beats and I was hoping I pushed a bit more for this one. Definitely I'll be looking this once more before I package it. Thank you so much,

[Malleus Maleficarum]

This is awesome. The intro definitely sets the mood with the cellos doing their eighth notes and what I think is a glockenspiel leading into a choral section with brass and bombastic percussion, all in the span of 40 seconds. It is actually really impressive how quickly you move from section to section here, though I think some areas may have benefited from a little more time spent in them before moving on. Because the pace of the piece is usually pretty fast, a lot of the slower, calmer areas risk not having the emotional impact they should up until the second half. But this is largely avoided by just really good orchestration, except for 1:42, which sticks out and doesn't really match the rest of the piece. The last minute or so is actually my favorite part, because the pace slows down and you spend a little longer reveling on the journey you just went through. It feels very heartfelt and meaningful. The transition to 2:15 is a little rough and quick, however. That would be my final complaint for this piece; it is truly spectacular. The outro is AMAZING; very few complaints here. Thanks for coming out!

CloakedSoup responds:

The two parts you pointed out (1:42 and 2:15) were where I (last minute) wrote an extra section. Before that, there was a direct transition from one to the other, but I felt like the opening didn't have enough time being played (as you said). I wanted to write an extra part where I repeated some of those melodic ideas due to the aforementioned feeling that the intro needed to be longer. It's impressive that you intuitively noticed where I inserted the extra part! haha

[Fate]

Welcome back for another round! This one takes you on quite the emotional journey as always. But I feel like there's an element of soul missing this time from the performance, almost like you're rushing through the notes without taking your time to really emphasize the emotional beats of the piece. A good example is 2:13, which as Spadezer said is a very abrupt change of tone and lasts for like 10 seconds. I feel like a slower tempo here with a softer, more delicate touch would have greatly benefited the performance of this section. I never reviewed your previous round 3 submission but it is by far my favorite of your NGADM submissions. It literally gave me shivers listening to it. I didn't get the same response here unfortunately, likely because it did feel a little rushed and discombobulated at times. Mixing is excellent as always though. I find it admirable that you perform your own pieces with such eloquency. Thanks for coming out as always!

Solacitude responds:

Thank you very much! Happy to reach semi finals, it's been quite an adventure!!

I get what you're saying, it's often hard to get to record takes that are depicting properly what I have in mind, to get an inner flow that's projected properly on the keys, it's so easy to miss. 2:13 might be too bold for the overall feel of the piece. I knew it was a strong contrast and it's what I was going for, but maybe overdid it? It's a little 10 seconds but it had to be practiced a whole lot more than that! :) I'm thinking maybe I'll remove it completely from this piece and keep the concept for another more aggressive one. And maybe split this one into 2 completely different pieces.

I'm glad Windy connected with you this way! It's also my favorite own composition up to now, I had more episodes of strong inspiration at the beginning of the round 3, which gave more time to put into the end result. This one inspiration was not flowing as easily in the first days, but still I tried to do the best I can with the 2 ideas that came my way. Maybe I should have kicked the whole first part out and built more based off the second theme to get something more integrated. Not sure yet what I'll do with this piece.

Thank you very much for the feedbacks!

[Sweet Memories]

The intro is really weird to me and doesn't represent the rest of the song very much; it gives a weak first impression fs. That guy just saying intro over and over is pretty funny though tbh. Honestly 0:40 is so groovy and it scratches an itch in my brain. I just think it needs a little more bass, that's it. Just something to fill the mix on the lower end. The bass comes in in the very next part, so it should've been there a little earlier imo. Same goes for 1:28, so instead of copy pasting adding that bass doing something would've been cool... aaand same goes for 2:32, and for basically the whole last third. I think you're starting to see the problem here. Nothing really changes! It's so groovy and a bop but something has to be added to keep it fresh or else you'll bore the audience as they listen. You just switch between A and B for the entire song it feels like until the outro.

This is a very unique song because of the sawtooth synth ostinato pattern that is not at all in key but still works because it adds texture to the whole song. The way it is mixed is honestly masterful. I just wish the song had a little more development because this has HUGE potential to be even more groovy! The voice lines fit super well btw which is rare for songs in general imo.

Best of luck next year!

music69012 responds:

thank you so much!
see ya next year!

[Patterns [NGADM Round 1]]

Before I review this, let me put out a disclaimer: I don't really listen to hardstyle bass songs all that much as to me they all sound fairly samey. With that being said, my POV for this review is to judge it compared to other songs of its genre that I have heard, and what this does to separate itself from the masses.
Quite the intense intro! Probably the loudest intro in this entire round. Sets the mood for sure! At 0:25 we get a melody with more creative usage of the hardstyle bass sound than a lot of other songs of this nature I have heard especially right at 0:31. The following section is more traditional, but then we hit the bridge which is probably my favorite part of the song. More melodic elements, those classic cinematic orchestral hits, polyrhythms, and it is overall just a treat to listen to.

Unfortunately 2:40 is the weakest part imo. The melodic elements go away completely and we're just left with pretty harsh synths, which makes me feel like the only point of this section was to assault your ears. A soft, smooth piano playing a more developed version of the main melody would've been a great way to both spice up the final chorus and the outro. Either way, thanks for coming out this year!

Raylectro responds:

I agree that 2:40 is quite weak, I never really put too much effort into that part :< my future works are gonna be so much better though, you can count on that, your insight into this song is detailed and simple to follow, I'll use your tips for future reference :)

[D4 - Dimension IV]

The intro sets the stage incredibly well, a pattern I've noticed in this year's rock submissions. I feel like there is either too much compression or too much bass on the kick drums at 0:17 though as each hit covers up the rest of the mix in a way I'm not a fan of. Could just be the type of kick drum. A similar issue occurs at the next part as everything sidechains away at each kick drum.

Then we get slammed in the face with the epicness of 0:50 as I'm blown out of the room by the brief but heavy hitting guitars! This part is mixed perfectly 0 complaints here. The synth breakdown is also really cool and avoids the kick drum issues from earlier. 1:57 is really cool though I do wish it was played a little less or changed significantly when it comes back later instead of just adding one little riff. Cause some of the energy is lost with the slower pace of notes there. The bridge at 2:46 is a great way to evolve the intro as the song continues and the transition into the next part has to be my favorite moment.

Thanks for coming out this year, and I hope to see you come back for revenge!

D4W1LL13 responds:

dully noted! i appreciate your feedback! Thanks a ton for listening!